Drakenstein Freedom
- Details
- Written March 2012
Determined non-conformist reformers arrive
As dispossessed Huguenots ready for something new
Shedding the cloak of oppression as they leave Europe behind
Kicking off pantofles to roam the vineyards, [i]
While the turtle dove tip-toes forward
Calling liberté, liberté. [ii]
Dogged campaigner ready for release
After a quarter-century’s detention for sabotage
Leaving the barbed wire with clenched fist and new shoes
For a world waiting for something better,
While the turtle dove tip-toes forward
Calling amandla, awethu. [iii]
Resolute Afrikaners approach the mountain
To celebrate a language woven from a converging past
Absorbing the idiom of the day to become something new
So they can tie up their velskoens with pride, [iv]
While the turtle dove tip-toes forward
Calling work harder, work harder.
March 2012
There are three significant monuments in the Drakenstein Valley in South Africa’s Western Cape:
- the Huguenot Monument in Fransch Hoek,
- the Nelson Mandela Statue where he was released from the Drakenstein Correctional Centre (Victor Verster Prison), Paarl
- the Afrikaans Language Monument on Paarl Mountain.
Click here for photos of Drakenstein Valley
Photos:
Huguenot Monument, Fransch and the Mandela Statue, Drakenstein Correctional Centre - © Paul du Plessis
Afrikaans Language Monument - by courtesy Chell Hill
Afrikaans Language Monument Nelson Mandela Statue, Drakenstein Correctional Centre
As dispossessed Huguenots ready for something new
Shedding the cloak of oppression as they leave Europe behind
Kicking off pantofles to roam the vineyards, [i]
While the turtle dove tip-toes forward
Calling liberté, liberté. [ii]
Dogged campaigner ready for release
After a quarter-century’s detention for sabotage
Leaving the barbed wire with clenched fist and new shoes
For a world waiting for something better,
While the turtle dove tip-toes forward
Calling amandla, awethu. [iii]
Resolute Afrikaners approach the mountain
To celebrate a language woven from a converging past
Absorbing the idiom of the day to become something new
So they can tie up their velskoens with pride, [iv]
While the turtle dove tip-toes forward
Calling work harder, work harder.
March 2012
There are three significant monuments in the Drakenstein Valley in South Africa’s Western Cape:
- the Huguenot Monument in Fransch Hoek,
- the Nelson Mandela Statue where he was released from the Drakenstein Correctional Centre (Victor Verster Prison), Paarl
- the Afrikaans Language Monument on Paarl Mountain.
Click here for photos of Drakenstein Valley
Photos:
Huguenot Monument, Fransch and the Mandela Statue, Drakenstein Correctional Centre - © Paul du Plessis
Afrikaans Language Monument - by courtesy Chell Hill
Afrikaans Language Monument Nelson Mandela Statue, Drakenstein Correctional Centre
[i] A 17th century French slipper; the Afrikaans for slipper – pantoffel.
[ii] One of the most distinctive of South African bird calls, with prolonged emphasis on the middle syllable.
[iii] The rallying cry of the ANC – ‘power – to us’
[iv] Southern African walking shoes made of rough tanned leather and pronounced fell-skoons.